Report: WWE Changed WrestleMania 40 Main Event Plans After Fan Backlash

The negative fan reaction surrounding The Rock replacing Cody Rhodes as Roman Reigns' WrestleMania 40 opponent directly led to WWE altering plans, according to Aaron Varble of SE Scoops.

Despite Cody winning the men's Royal Rumble match to set up a rematch with Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, he seemed to have surrendered his title shot to The Rock. However, a widespread fan backlash over the change appears to have forced WWE's hand, as Cody and Rock shared a tense exchange at last week's WrestleMania Kickoff press conference in Las Vegas. There, Rhodes announced his intention to face Roman after all, before being slapped by The Rock in an apparent heel turn for the Brahma Bull.

Regarding this apparent backtrack, Varble tweeted:

"I was able to confirm that Rock's original plan was to have a match with Roman. It wasn't the situation we have now. After all the negative reaction, Rock conceded it should be Roman vs Cody. A tag team match at WrestleMania seems to be the direction now, with Rock & Roman vs Cody & Seth. Either way, Cody vs Roman will now main event night two of Mania 40."

There have been several reports about WWE's original plans for the main event of WrestleMania 40.